The Debian pg_ctlcluster, pg_createcluster, and pg_upgradecluster scripts, as distributed in the Debian postgresql-common package before 181+deb9u1 for PostgreSQL (and other packages related to Debian and Ubuntu), handled symbolic links insecurely, which could result in local denial of service by overwriting arbitrary files.

A link following denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the Trend Micro Security (Consumer) 2021 familiy of products could allow an attacker to abuse the PC Health Checkup feature of the product to create symlinks that would allow modification of files which could lead to a denial-of-service.

opentmpfiles through 0.3.1 allows local users to take ownership of arbitrary files because d entries are mishandled and allow a symlink attack.

Red Hat Storage 2.0 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the (1) e, (2) local-bricks.list, (3) bricks.err, or (4) limits.conf files in /tmp.

Perl module Data::UUID from CPAN version 1.219 vulnerable to symlink attacks

This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.7, macOS Sonoma 14.7, macOS Sequoia 15. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

A library injection issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.7, macOS Sonoma 14.7, macOS Sequoia 15. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

The git-changelog utility in git-extras 1.7.0 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on (1) /tmp/changelog or (2) /tmp/.git-effort.

The fedora-business-cards package before 1-0.1.beta1.fc17 on Fedora 17 and before 1-0.1.beta1.fc18 on Fedora 18 allows local users to cause a denial of service or write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on /tmp/fedora-business-cards-buffer.svg.

Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') vulnerability in the EPAG component of Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools for Windows allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service. This issue affects: Bitdefender GravityZone version 7.1.2.33 and prior versions.

everybuddy 0.4.3 and earlier allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file created by a system call to wget.

linki.py in ekg 2005-06-05 and earlier allows local users to overwrite or create arbitrary files via a symlink attack on temporary files.

The internal_dump function in Mathopd before 1.5p5, and 1.6x before 1.6b6 BETA, when Mathopd is running with the -n option, allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on dump files that are triggered by a SIGWINCH signal.

It was discovered that the process_report() function in data/whoopsie-upload-all allowed arbitrary file writes via symlinks.

foomatic-rip filter v4.0.12 and prior used insecurely creates temporary files for storage of PostScript data by rendering the data when the debug mode was enabled. This flaw may be exploited by a local attacker to conduct symlink attacks by overwriting arbitrary files accessible with the privileges of the user running the foomatic-rip universal print filter.

Portage before 2.0.50-r3 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a hard link attack on the lockfiles.

This vulnerability allows local attackers to delete arbitrary directories on affected installations of Avast Premium Security 20.8.2429 (Build 20.8.5653.561). An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the AvastSvc.exe module. By creating a directory junction, an attacker can abuse the service to delete a directory. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to create a denial-of-service condition on the system. Was ZDI-CAN-12082.

A security vulnerability that can lead to local privilege escalation has been found in ’guix-daemon’. It affects multi-user setups in which ’guix-daemon’ runs locally. The attack consists in having an unprivileged user spawn a build process, for instance with `guix build`, that makes its build directory world-writable. The user then creates a hardlink to a root-owned file such as /etc/shadow in that build directory. If the user passed the --keep-failed option and the build eventually fails, the daemon changes ownership of the whole build tree, including the hardlink, to the user. At that point, the user has write access to the target file. Versions after and including v0.11.0-3298-g2608e40988, and versions prior to v1.2.0-75109-g94f0312546 are vulnerable.

pithos before 0.3.5 allows overwrite of arbitrary files via symlinks.

faxrunqd.in in mgetty 1.1.28 and earlier allows local users to overwrite files via a symlink attack on JOB files.

A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1. A local user may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

NTFS file system in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 SP2 allows local attackers to hide file usage activities via a hard link to the target file, which causes the link to be recorded in the audit trail instead of the target file.

Hard link and possibly symbolic link following vulnerabilities in QNX RTOS 4.25 (aka QNX4) allow local users to overwrite arbitrary files via (1) the -f argument to the monitor utility, (2) the -d argument to dumper, (3) the -c argument to crttrap, or (4) using the Watcom sample utility.

clipedit in the Clipboard module for Perl allows local users to delete arbitrary files via a symlink attack on /tmp/clipedit$$.

MySQL before 5.1.46 allows local users to delete the data and index files of another user's MyISAM table via a symlink attack in conjunction with the DROP TABLE command, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-4098 and CVE-2008-7247.

script command in the util-linux package before 2.11n allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files by setting a hardlink from the typescript log file to any file on the system, then having root execute the script command.

Joe text editor follows symbolic links when creating a rescue copy called DEADJOE during an abnormal exit, which allows local users to overwrite the files of other users whose joe session crashes.

Perl 5.004_04 and earlier follows symbolic links when running with the -e option, which allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/perl-eaXXXXX file.

Privilege Escalation vulnerability in McAfee Total Protection (MTP) prior to 16.0.30 allows a local user to gain elevated privileges and perform arbitrary file deletion as the SYSTEM user potentially causing Denial of Service via manipulating Junction link, after enumerating certain files, at a specific time.

IBM Spectrum Protect 7.1 and 8.1 could allow a local attacker to launch a symlink attack. IBM Spectrum Protect Backup-archive Client creates temporary files insecurely. A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a symbolic link from a temporary file to various files on the system, which could allow the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the system with elevated privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 125163.

Website META Language (WML) 2.0.11 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on (1) the /tmp/pe.tmp.$$ temporary file used by wml_contrib/wmg.cgi and (2) temporary files used by wml_backend/p3_eperl/eperl_sys.c.

wml_backend/p1_ipp/ipp.src in Website META Language (WML) 2.0.11 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the ipp.$$.tmp temporary file.

init in initramfs-tools 0.92f allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/initramfs.debug temporary file. NOTE: the vendor disputes this vulnerability, stating that "init is [used in] a single-user context; there's no possibility that this is exploitable.

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the NVIDIA Control Panel application where it is susceptible to a Windows file system symbolic link attack where an unprivileged attacker can cause the applications to overwrite privileged files, resulting in potential denial of service or data loss.

LutelWall 0.97 and earlier allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file created by a system call to wget.

A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the mysql-systemd-helper of the mariadb packaging of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 allows local attackers to change the permissions of arbitrary files to 0640. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 mariadb versions prior to 10.2.31-3.25.1. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 mariadb versions prior to 10.2.31-3.26.1.

The quarantine restoration function in Total Defense Anti-virus 11.5.2.28 is vulnerable to symbolic link attacks, allowing files to be written to privileged directories.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows store installer where WindowsApps directory is vulnerable to symbolic link attack, aka 'Microsoft Windows Store Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.

Docker Desktop installer on Windows in versions before 4.6.0 allows an attacker to overwrite any administrator writable files by creating a symlink in place of where the installer writes its log file. Starting from version 4.6.0, the Docker Desktop installer, when run elevated, will write its log files to a location not writable by non-administrator users.

In Avast Antivirus before 19.4, a local administrator can trick the product into renaming arbitrary files by replacing the Logs\Update.log file with a symlink. The next time the product attempts to write to the log file, the target of the symlink is renamed. This defect can be exploited to rename a critical product file (e.g., AvastSvc.exe), causing the product to fail to start on the next system restart.

Okta Verify for Windows is vulnerable to privilege escalation through DLL hijacking. The vulnerability is fixed in Okta Verify for Windows version 5.0.2. To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade to 5.0.2 or greater.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles symlinks. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles symlinks.

alsa-utils 1.0.19 and later versions allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack via the /usr/bin/alsa-info and /usr/bin/alsa-info.sh scripts.

On BIG-IP versions 15.0.0-15.0.1, 14.1.0.2-14.1.2.2, 14.0.0.5-14.0.1, 13.1.1.5-13.1.3.1, 12.1.4.1-12.1.5, 11.6.4-11.6.5, and 11.5.9-11.5.10, the access controls implemented by scp.whitelist and scp.blacklist are not properly enforced for paths that are symlinks. This allows authenticated users with SCP access to overwrite certain configuration files that would otherwise be restricted.

McAfee Total Protection prior to 16.0.50 allows attackers to elevate user privileges due to Improper Link Resolution via registry keys. This could enable a user with lower privileges to execute unauthorized tasks.

checkpath in OpenRC through 0.42.1 might allow local users to take ownership of arbitrary files because a non-terminal path component can be a symlink.

Windows Update Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Supportutils, before version 3.1-5.7.1, wrote data to static file /tmp/supp_log, allowing local attackers to overwrite files on systems without symlink protection

In yast2-multipath before version 4.1.1 a static temporary filename allows local attackers to overwrite files on systems without symlink protection

A vulnerability exists in IBM SPSS Modeler Subscription Installer that allows a user with create symbolic link permission to write arbitrary file in another protected path during product installation. IBM X-Force ID: 187727.